*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of greet

From Middle English greten, from Old English grētan, from Proto-West Germanic *grōtijan, from Proto-Germanic *grōtijaną. Cognate with Dutch groeten, German grüßen, grüssen.

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To welcome in a friendly manner, either in person or through another means such as writing. · To arrive at or reach, or meet. · To accost; to address. · To meet and give salutations.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English greten, from Old English grētan, from Proto-West Germanic *grōtijan, from Proto-Germanic *grōtijaną. Cognate with Dutch groeten, German grüßen, grüssen.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "3": "greten"
      },
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    },
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    },
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    },
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        "1": "nl",
        "2": "groeten"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch groeten"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "grüßen"
      },
      "expansion": "German grüßen"
    }
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      "greten#Middle_English"
    ],
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    ],
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    ],
    [
      "groeten",
      "groeten#Dutch"
    ],
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      "grüßen",
      "grüßen#German"
    ],
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      "grüssen#German"
    ]
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        "To welcome in a friendly manner, either in person or through another means such as writing.",
        "To arrive at or reach, or meet.",
        "To accost; to address.",
        "To meet and give salutations."
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
adj

Great.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English greet, grete (“great”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentiongreetenm
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    }
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        "Great."
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

Mourning, weeping, lamentation.

verb

To weep; to cry.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From a blend of two Old English verbs, grētan, grǣtan (itself from Proto-West Germanic *grātan); and of Old English grēotan (itself from *greutan), both meaning "to weep, lament". Possibly reinforced in Northern England and Scotland by Old Norse gráta, whence also Danish græde, Norwegian gråte, Swedish gråta, all meaning "to cry, to weep".

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "3": "-"
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    ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

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Contribute located evidence for greet →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
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Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Z3JlZXQ